London : Printed by H. Clark, for John Taylor at the Globe in St. Paul’s Church-yard, 1685/6. First Edition
8vo, A8, a4, B-Z, Aa-Dd8, lacking the inserted leaf of adverts after a4 but has final advert leaf (Dd7), Dd8 is blank but possibly not genuine, worm trough in gutter of last 2 gatherings not affecting text, contemporary calf, blind-tooled with double-fillet borders and small sunflower in each corner, neatly rebacked. morocco label, a good copy. Rare.
Provenance : 1). Inscription on f.f. e-p. “Jo. Middleton ....? Ano. 1686 pret. 3s.9d” 2). Inscription on f.f.e-p. “Willm. Fox his Book. June 13 1748. given me by RB.” and his signature “Willm Fox, Warwick” at head of title. 3). Inscription on title “Thos. Bunn his Book 1761” 4). Signature on title “Charles Leonard’s 1768”. 5). 19th century engraved bookplate of Spring Hill College Library inscribed “Mathematical Lecture Room” on front pastedown. 6). Stamp of Mansfield College Library Oxford. 7). Pencilled collation note of Alan Thomas dated 1980.

After thirty years of experimentation and observation of natural phenomena Boyle appears in this thoughtful treatise to have reached his maturity as a philosopher.” - Fulton. This, perhaps the most important of Boyle’s philosophical writings, is, in the truest sense, a discourse upon the ‘nature of things’.
Reference: Wing B3979 Fulton 170